Difference between revisions of "Siemens-Nixdorf PCD-4ND"
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== Durability and Repair-ability == | == Durability and Repair-ability == | ||
The plastic quality of most of the chassis is quite good for such an old laptop and the | The plastic quality of most of the chassis is quite good for such an old laptop and significantly better than later Fujitsu-Siemens models. Internal component access is also quite good, as the hardrive has a caddy that can be opened externally, as well as easy access to the floppy drive, battery and RAM. The LCD screen has a fluorescent backlight that is potentially difficult to replace as screens used by IBM on similar laptops can be quite cumbersome to disassemble (the IBM Thinkpad 755, IBM 370C series). | ||
== Greatest features & flaws == | == Greatest features & flaws == | ||
Revision as of 13:24, 24 February 2022
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Siemens-Nixdorf PCD-4ND Overview Features
One of the following
Other
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Best retro purpose
Early DOS and Windows 3.1 era gaming, for titles released before 1995 or as office computer. Unfortunately, despite the somewhat adequate CPU speed, the video chipset is definitely too slow for anything beyond 320x200 resolution and even 640x480 resolution is quite taxing on Windows 3.1. DOS games support is quite good as the laptop offers also good SoundBlaster emulation.
Benchmarks
Durability and Repair-ability
The plastic quality of most of the chassis is quite good for such an old laptop and significantly better than later Fujitsu-Siemens models. Internal component access is also quite good, as the hardrive has a caddy that can be opened externally, as well as easy access to the floppy drive, battery and RAM. The LCD screen has a fluorescent backlight that is potentially difficult to replace as screens used by IBM on similar laptops can be quite cumbersome to disassemble (the IBM Thinkpad 755, IBM 370C series).
Greatest features & flaws
| Features | Flaws |
|---|---|
| Average Windows 3.1 DOS Gaming platform | Cumbersome Windows graphics support |
| Compact laptop | Too slow on Windows 95, limited RAM expansion capability |
| Durable, comfortable keyboard and trackpoint | Poor video chipset, no soundcard |
| Great Floppy and harddrive access | Proprietary power supply connector |
Review
A midrange, somewhat compact, business laptop, released in 1993. It had an average mix of parts for a 486. The CPU is good for a 486, the video chipset is just mediocre while the soundcard positions this laptop somewhat on target with the intended goals. The only major improvement of this laptop compared with other 486 models equipped with the same video chipset is the slightly faster CPU that could run at 100 MHz.
The Western Digital branded video chipset was decent in 1993 but seriously obsolete by 1995 or 1996, late in the product's manufacturing run. The lack of any acceleration functions means that even running Windows 3.1 in 640x480 feels sluggish and Windows 95 operation is outright slow. It is very difficult to understand why Siemens agreed to linger on with this laptop configuration and using such video chipsets that do not even expose full VESA capabilities, requiring loading a special VESA TSR to run some programs that require 640x480 in 256 colours. Also, although resolutions such as 1024x768 at 256 colors are possible, they are clearly beyond the user's patience.
The inclusion of a relatively modern TFT screen, although the contrast ratio and response time seems slightly lower than IBM's offerings, is one of the few saving graces in terms of technical prowess as most laptops of its era either had poor color LCDs or good but monochrome ones. RAM capabilities are mixed. The lack of standardization means that memory upgrades are quite difficult to find, as the laptop require a clearly proprietary memory module package, that looks as a slightly thick black cartridge.
The included standard capacity harddrive is not adequate as even modest Windows 95 installations with a Microsoft Office 95 package can take around more than 300MB. The harddrive itself is noisy and very bulky (12mm height) but the plastic drive cage along with the laptop's own casing offer excellent noise damping capabilities as metal frames are almost entirely avoided.
One of the famous features of this laptop is the easily lift-able keyboard that is operated by sliding some side latches on the chassis. This offers very easy access to most internal parts such as the battery, harddrive, floppy drive, memory. This was a very nice design feature that, fortunately, does not compromise too much the laptop's rigidity, keyboard feel and durability. Although latches can be damaged with improper operation they do withstand long use quite well and the keyboard hinges survives some rough handling.
The keyboard, trackpoint and trackpoint buttons are at the classic IBM standard. While the keyboard is not quite the best, mainly due to the lift-able design feature that reduced the travelling distance of the keys and made the keyboard feel more rigid than it should, it is still good compared with some low-end products of other manufacturers.
Software support is a mixed experience. While hardware capabilities are not outright bad, the video chipset seriously limit comfortable operating systems to Windows 3.1. Although Windows 95 is entirely possible, you should have at least 16MB of RAM available. DOS gaming is below average as anything newer than Wolfenstein 3D is barely playable, as is the case for the venerable DOOM.